Photographic apparatus



July 28, 1931. A. w. CAPS 7 I PHOTOGRQPHI C APPARATUS Filed March 16, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N i\\ 4 1 v INVENTOR J 'Z ZZO' W zlklll" %z'sATToRN 5 A. W. CAPS PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS July 25, 1931.

s Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 16. 1929 Heel INVENTOR rfia f zlsATTo vision ofv improved guiding means overt which a print istdrawn by; the conveying 7 1 further mm m ene as-um Y BKQ SS W o HOT SW C R O A-H TIQNKOIDPROZVLIDENCE, 311cm: ISLAND, A con-rename OF monn ISLAND rn'o'roeimrnic arrann'rus r:

application filed March ia eee, Seria1'No. 34='7,649. 1 g

f I invention relates photographicap; paratus of the general typeknown as rcommercial camerasfflin whichsuccessive portions of afirolhoisensitized sheet material are brought into a focal planeyex'posed, sev- Iered-,fpicked up by" o'on'veying mechani'sm, y -and--conveyed to 'oneor-m'ore' print treating-t baths, such as developing; 7 ashing, and fix ingbaths' rThe 'present invention deals par} o ticularly with i th' arrangement for holding a r the'severed sheet-material in position to be? v i .pickedup by the conveying mechanism, and;

the principal object of therinvention is 'to' provide generally improvediand more satis- I v15 factory holding, devicessothat the attach- ',;,ment of the severed prints to" the conveying niec'hanisrn willrribe accomplished more smoothlyand withgreater certainty than by f p I p p I posed, the lower edge 11 of a portionso held v'the-[useof previous 'constructions. I

' An otheri objectof the invention s the promechanism which/guiding 'means is so designed andconstructed that a printgdrawn ,25 thereover willnot be marred or scratched; ,as' has so-metimes been cdone in-r pr or 'de-m' iVllCe SLY 'I I p I object is the provision "of hold- Sing mechanism so 1 designed that "any liquid .--'30 ""Wl1lCl1 accidently fallstor becomes sp'attered on the-holding"deviceswill drain on readily 5 *so that a printis not fpreinaturely affected therebyp 1 I To .these'andother ends-l'the' invention retions ,of'pa'rts all: aswill be hereinafterrmore r fully :ldescri bed,"rthe noyel ,featuresi-being' -"i; pointed out in the 1 claimsat r the end of the sides .in certain improvements and 'conibina "specification. t p In :the' drawings: ",1 r

trati '-Fig.;'-2. is, a. sideelevatim apart [of the apparatus, with parts -in section,;

rat portion of. Fig 3,,j11 ustrating' the "convey- :Fig. 7 isarearelevation ofiparts of the several" views lindicate the same parts;

'bodyhavin'g walls enclosing adark chamlocated. Successive portions of a rollcof a slot'1 2in a-partition 13, and the severing print drops" downwardly by gravity within wall16 and is heldin position; to he-piclied fforfexamplaa pair ofendlessniembers such as the'chai'ns 20,.one mounted at each side of trated in detail in Fig. 7 extend transversely y a 1 t "of the apparatus, having their ends secured Fig. 1 is, a fragmentary vertical section through'part of a commercial' camera', illusg thepresentinvention applied there I edge of theb'ar 22, in the direction ofjtrav'el ofthe bar, these pins 23 being preferablyarv a s rangedisubstantially flush with' one side of f Fig-.a3 'is averticalsectionalview through 5 T'l-e the'partso illustrated-inFigi2; t

Fig; iris -a fragmentaryview similar to l 50 ing mechanism and the print in a slightly differentposition; .t j ff Fig. 5iis aperspective view. of aportion of a print supporting bar, illustrating details thereof; T V r J 1%;

"Fig.1t6 isaplanof part of the apparatus, with'parts in'section; and i Similar, reference numerals throughout the?! Thereis'illustrated inFig l a fragment i of a commercial camera including acamera ber-in which the focal plane ofthe camera is V sensitized'sheet material are arranged'to' be held in this focal plane imposition to beieX-Q being illustrated inthisrfigure. After. the; exposure is made, suitable feeding rolls :(not' shown) are rotateduto feed the exposed p0rg tion' downwardly; so'that it passes through knife 14; is then actuated to seventheexposed portion from the remainder of vthe Q. strip. "When thus severed, the exposed I,

a chute having a front wall 15 andj a rear up and removed by suitable conveying mech I anismn *This conveylng mechanism may include,

the apparatustadjacent each sidewall 2170f i i thecasing which contains the print treating mechanism.z-- One or more pin bars 22, illus;

to the chains Each pin bar hasa'plu 'rality 10f impaling memberssuch as the pins 23 whichv extend forwardlyirorhtheiront 4. if i l: 7 I, The conveying mechan'isininay be fdrivene forwardly either" continuously'or intermit-t tently by suitable mechanism such as a motor (not shown) arranged to rotate a shaft 25 which drives a chain 26 which, in turn, ro-

tates a pair of sprockets which are engaged.

witht-he conveyor chains20. As the conveying mechan sm as dr ven, the pins 23 on a one of the pin, bar ss 22 pierce the print held within the chute 15, 16, thus attaching the pri t'to the conveying mechanism so that adjacent. the ino'uthfof thephutethat. the, present invention deals.-

-bfeni thought necessary to support print I very close to the path'of travel zsonsiboth sideskthereo-f; According to the;

@supporting means is provided so that the 7 support of the I of travel of the pin bar 30.

considerabledistance therefrom. This fill-- -.pl"'0Ved'l-supporting means also has itlie ad- "continued movementof the mechanism draws-the print through a 'developing bath within a tray or container 30, and

(not shown). the conveying mechanism;- deposits the print in a fixing bath of hypo orthe like within-a tray 31,rand-:the piirbar from which the print was detached thenwr'eturns' toet'he :mouth- :of the chute 115, .16 j tospick. up another print and'f'tocarry itflthroughvthe same'eycle. It is particularly with the construction .H'eretofoiqe, it"has of thezpin bar present' -invention, however, improved print adjacent this pathybut'may be removed vantage tha t"the itnpa-ling ofvthe print'upon e the pins 23isj accomplished with much'more =A preferred embodiment of l supporting means for' print isas follows: Brackets are secured to 1 .flthe-side walls '21 of the brackets sup-portmembers certainty and-in a smoother and: more satisfactory manner than has been possible by the useof previous constructions.

the photographic ceasing, and :these or plates 36 of the form best shown in Figs; 2, 6 and 7; In

A q V' 1 i1ed: down rd y illustrated i Figs. 61: n g

each of these members 36 andforwardly, as V 3-, this guideway serving toguide one of the chains 20-ofithe conveying -mechanism.-' Thuslthe conveying mechanism-misguided :at this point so that it 1 iis' prop'erly alined and: must travel accurately along a predete'rnrined path. 7 r --Across bar iO extendsacross fromv the {right :hand plate 86 $0 rt-he' left. :hand plate, fthusconnecting' these-plates and forming a i firm and rig-id 1 structure;

.cornerof each of'thie plates'36 there is'jour-' ,n'aled-a shaft 41 which extends between these At the upper rear 3'6isanother shaft as print isdrawn, 'as will be ."llhe Chifll'l travels in a .ing mechanism,- as illustrated preferably to the member-e 36.

. the, ns on the additional clearance betweenthe pinsan'd the this improved there is a 'guideway rearwardlyaat and then bent forwardly at 55,1, finally terminating in a lower -edge 52,

whichis near the path of travel ofthe conveyin Figs. 1 and3.

The front wall l5, l1owever, terminates at an edge 53-:some distance from the pathoftravel of the conveying mechanism, and "just above a, rod or bar 54 which will bedescribed in greater detail below. This member 54 forms adownwardlex tension of the frontfwall 15 of the chute, sothat it'may be considered in weffect'a partof the front wall Thisrod is rsupported'at itsiends on flanges or ledges 55, suitably curvedto receiveit.

On the opposite :side ofthe path-of travel there is provided print supporting means. in

the form ofacrossbar 60 secured at its end Tlns cross. bar; hasqone I of the-conveying mechanism'froni that on $5 facesubstanti-ally parallel to and very closely no :adjacent the path oftravel of'the pin bars 22 of the conveying mechanism,- as willi be seen print on one side ofthe path need: not ,be closely.

clearlyby' referring to :Figsl?) and 4'. Recesses 61 vare" pcov-id-ed in this face of the :bar,

these :recess'es'being' formed oppositeye'a'ch of pin bars 2:2. This provides bar 60, so that in case one'iof the pins'should become bent: s-OQE'CS to crossbar GOduring itstravel. V -'l3he upper (face ofthecross' bar 60 is arranged-at ian acute'angl-e tovthe front face which is parallel to the path 'of-travel aof fliers-105 conveying mechanism, so that this upper face p is inclined or angularly disposed I relative to the? direction of travel-of .vthe conveying mechanism-as" will be clearly apparent from also has recesses 626110 formed in it; these recesses likewise being op- "posite th'e' pins:23'zand%intersecting the recesses Fig. 3; This upper face 61in the front face. Thus the upper edgeof 'theb a' r 6O doesnot p resenta'continuousfsinooth supportingredge,but'provideswhat mightibeiillfi termed spaced supportingpoints'intermediate "thepins-i23, so that a printin 'position to"be picked up is supportedbyithe upper etlge'of the bar. 60 i -between the pinsf23 but is not supported by this bar atxpnints. directly op-" 'posite the pins w Suitable stop means is providedat' the rear edge of the cross ba1 60to contact the edge of a print'and to prevent itfrom sliding downwardly over stop means preferablyfcomprises a plurality I of fingers T65 ffixed to the" rear edge of the cross bar 60 :by means such'a's'screws'tfi, the fingers i65be1ng spaced fromeach other as shown in Fig. 7 The purpose of spacing the asrshown especially in :Figs'. s and 5,0ne' ofw .proj ect beyond the siders -of :the'pinibar 22', it would not catchupon-the liquid which may fell upon 5 the cross bar 160 'Lorthe lingers 65 ora'djacent' parts ofthe 'a'p par'atusr During the operation of the inaresolution front the,,tray;f 31 tmayasplash or r I spatter down on to these parts,,or liquid which qhas icollected upon the pin hars 22may drop onto these parts, or Linoisture 'mayncondense thereon. It is apparent that if a continuous 5 stop member werefusejd in place of the spaced 7 :fingers r65, liquid awouldthen collect between 'cthis'stop member and the hars 60, and would v find no ready outlet. Byyusing spaced fingers, if: however,asrtheristop means, theiispaces hef tween, the fingersprovide Fa pluralitylof fopenpings through which liquid'mayeasily-drain,

sorthatitdoes'not accumulate at this point;

, yIt-will he noted from 3'and L that the *stopi memb'ers 165 are arranged at an. acute angle to'the topz face'of the crossbar 60, so

j that a substantially;\l-'shapedIspaceis formed between the haraand the stopmemher; Thus whenfthe; edge of". as. print is placed c in "this space, the stop membersc65will not only: support the edge of the print toi.-prevent it from v sliding 1211 0 tend'to prevent upwardcdisplacement of the. edge of thezprintain a-. direction perpen- M130 downwardly: over the bar 60 but will dicular to the surtace {of theprint. Thiszacs tion of resistingdisplacementlof the edge of the prin't isloeneficial in csecuring'a cantilever act-ion in the'printas will be hrought' .out'in greater detailhereafter inthe description of the .operation'of, the device;

R ferring now again to theguiding rod" or a bar 54,ithisrodis;preferably=.of"nonmetallic v Iriate1iial,such, for example, as glass where- I lite, and (convenientlybe madesof ,circu-- lar cross section. s T Ithasheen' found, in'cpractice' that-the developing and fixinghathsvaizporizesoinewhatg' and thelvapors tend to conc e juplon; other parts y of; the] apparatus.

' The vapors whichcondensefuponmetal are 1P apt to form metalliclfsalts, oi", the various chemicals, I; which may form crystals If such f -.ccrystals;-are present upon a part or' the appagrfatus over which thefprinti slides, the print -is aptto be scratched,;partic ilarlyif crystals ar'elprese'nt. where the v print makes abend so 1 that it is pressed against them. A deposit of crystals on the lower edge ofthe front wall 1. ofthe fchute, at the mouth thereof; is accordingly wvery undesirable; since the *print' is drawn over and pressed against this lower edge i oiithe chute when it i's' heing removed :fr'om the chute byithe' conveying' nechanism;

, 1 Furthermore, the emulsion side of is forwardly 'so that. itwould be scratched loy 160* I t r thi .1 as r any crystals which were present here.-

2 made rof snon ie lie mater al; since the chemicalwapors condjens ng on such materi al do; not f form hardy crystals which would f a c th lp ji tib gs mplyiorm. m sture W jthereon. Thusi the member 54; forms a ing means'overwhichthe emulsion side of the J I chineyit may occasionally: happen that fixinLgv vpr nt, pins have come into contact with it and slight- It win ic'cordingly,

pin 23 This is illustrated in 'full lines in Fig. 4. Itis ioundin p t e Pr tv the nemherfi i is print is drawnby the conveying means, with out danger "of scratching, the print. Furthera p more, if the member '54 is made circular orof i I anyother cross section in which its lowest 7 pointis removed trom the point at which the Y print contacts with the member, thenthe moisture which condenses on this member will run tothe lowest point as rapidly as itis formed, so that gnoharmful amountof liquid is inja position to contact, with, the print.- ll/llakingtherod 54: of glasshas been found to give excellent results, though hakelite, or other nonmetallic materials would also he satisfactory.

Inoperation,

the print. substantially at the vertex of this cV-shaped space, Thus the; print extends across the path of "travel ,ofthe conveying -mechanism.

into contact'with theupper orrear side of the while the rod 54 i supports the print won the oppositeffside of the path oftravel, andmay be placed at a ath. 1'

6 0 is recessedror cut opposite the pins 23,

,Qf spaced po nts intermediate the pins 'Ae- 1 continued downward movement; i Ofilh pin bar 22 tendsinot only tobend the direction, but also i I tends to deformittransversely or? in the direction of the length ofthe'pin bar, so that r v c i itbecomescupped or depressed around each 5, J

print inia longitudinal will pierce the paper very easily when it is cuppedin this manner,

pierce it; a c y p During the, downwardtrav-el of the 'pin the exposed print after-being fed, downwardly partially into the chute is v V I :seve red'loy the knife 14 as ahovedescribed so I i s j H thatitfalls by gravity within the chute The V lower end of the print" issues from thecmouth ofthe chute'in the space between the edge 52 I cofthe rear wall and the'rodj5 i at the front 7 wall, and enters the -V-shaped' space between the top face of the bar 60 "and the stopmemhers 65,;coming to rest with; the "lower edge of Fig. 3"llustrates aprint P ust asthe lyrdisplacedzitg Itw-illbe observed-thatthe bar 60 supports; theiprint on one sideof the"; I

path of travel ofthe conveying mechanism, and very closely adjacent thepath of the pins,

considerable distance fromfthis ractiee thatthe pins heremembered that the upper edge \ofthe supporting bar away at points directly so that. he print P, 's supported ataplurality sincethe ridges be -I .1 T

tween the cups-act somewhat as corrugations 5 ndt dfiqs h perer'set et t fi r zsuflicient resistance to ,enable- -the pins to 60,so that the extreme lower-edge-of the print iwoul'd'fly upwardly, "Such atendencyis rew-sistedfhowever, byfthe stop members 65,

since they are at an acute angle to the print j' and tend to-prevent the edge of the print from moving upwardly perpendicul'ar tothe surface-thereof. Thus the extreme edge of 1 the printis" restrained and held for a time in the vertex of the 'V-shaped space between the bars and the stop members-'65, and the.

restraintof this edge of the pr'intadds stifi ness to the print-by c'au'singittoact on the cantilever principle, thus assisting in providing sufiicient resistance so that the pins may pierce the print easily. The dotted lines V in Fig. .t'illus'tr ate the edge of the print restnained in this manner by the stop'members '65; -pon continued, movement of the pin bar, ot'co'urse, the lower 'edgeof the print will finally spring u-pto the full-line position shown in Fig.) 4, but nevertheless it is held veying' mechanis down for a time thus assists the piercing action. V i i p '1 VtZhen "the "pins have pierced theprint i I .bination with print conveying mechanism including a m'ovable bar and a plurality of which thus becomes impaled upon the conm, continued movement of the mechanism draws the main body of the printout of the chute, so that the print slides over the guiding rod54 which, because of its- 'nonm'etallic construction, acts as a smooth guide Without crystals which might" scratch the print. The 'enlargement'fnear the'mouth of thec'hute, at the point 51, allows sutfiicient space sothat the print is not forced to bend sharplyoverthe rod 54, and thus a smooth Withdrawing action is securedlfcT-he prints are then drawn around the'roller 46 and into the developing b'a t-h jin the tray 30, from which they'may be conveyedfthrougha washing bath and deposited in thefixingfbath 1 within thetray 31;

Itis found in practice that an arrangement constructed in accordance wanes present:-

invention gives "extremely good results,

prints being picked up easily with. oer- :tainty by the conveying mechanism, and

scratches on the printsbeing avoided. Even -prin'tsl of extremely short length may be f pickedlgup satisfactorily by the conveying P While mechanism when they'are supported by the improved supporting devices, herein disclosed. H j i one embodiment offthe invention f the inventive 'idea may be carriedv out .ina

7 number of ways This application isthere- "fore not to belimited tothe precisedetails shown, but is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof falling within the [spiritfiof the invention'or' the-scope. of the appended claims.

claim-as'my'invention 1111 photographic apparatus; the com- 'bers porting a print at spaced point intermediatev 1,815,967 i i r r r bination with print conveying mechanism, of devices for holding a print in a generally transverse directionrelative to the path of travel" of said conveying mechanism, said devices including means for supporting said, print at a plurality of spaced points on one side of the path of travel'of the conveying mechanism, so thatgsaid print may curve etrans'verselybetween the spaced supporting 'pOHlt/S. r

el, of devices for supporting a print in a gen-,

erally transverse direction relative to the path of travel of: said} conveying mechanism in position to be'pierced by saidfimp-aling memsaid devices including meansffor supsaid impaling members on one side of the paths of travel thereof, so that said print may curve transversely: between the spaced supporting points when said .impaling members come into'con-tact therewith. c 3. In a-photographic apparatus, the coma print: at a plurality of spaced points intermediate said impaling members and 'closely adj acent-the pathjoftravel of. said bar.

bination with print conveying mechanism movable along a predetermined path of travel, ofdevic'es for holding a print in position to be mechanism, said devices includingmeans for supporting a print at spaced pointon-one side of the path of travel of said conveying mechanism, Lso that said transversely between the spaced supporting points, and means for'supporting said print on'thebthefside Of the path of 'travel of the conveying mechanism.

5. Ina photographic apparatus,'*the combination with print, conveyingmechani'sm including an. impaling' member movable along a predetermined path "of travel, of devices for holding a print in position to be pierced near one edge thereof by; said impaling member, said devices including means for supportlng sald print in a pos t on extending across sa d path of travel, and means'substan- -'tially resisting. displacement of saidedge of said print, so that the portionof said print between saidgedge and the path of travel of projecting forwardly from said print may curve photographic apparatus, the com said impaling device may act as a cantilever.

--f '6. In a photographic apparatus, the combinationwith print co'nveymg mechanismineluding a-bar movable along apredet'ermin'ed path 'oftravel and a plurality of impaling members mounted, on said bar, of devices for holding print across the path of travel of said bar in position tobe pierced near one edge by said impaling members, said devices including means for supporting said print between said edge andthe path of travel of saidbar, and a member substantially in contact with said edge of the print and extending backwardly at an acute angle thereto to resist'displacement ofsaid edge, so thatthe portion of said print betweensaid edge and the path of travel of said bar may act as a cantilever.

7. In a photographic apparatus, the com bination with print. conveying mechanism including impaling'members movable along a predetermined path of travel, of devices for holding a print across thepath of travel of said impaling members in position. to be pierced near one edge thereby, said devices including members forming a substantially V-shaped space adapted to receive said edge of the print and to resist displacement of the I having a downwardly sloping face'for sup-f edge thereof.

8. In a photographic apparatus, the combination with printconveying mechanism- 'movable' along a predetermined path of travel,'of devicesfor holding a print 1n p0'si-,

tion to be picked up by said conveying mechanism, said devices including a plurality of spaced stop members having openings between them so that liquid may easily drain therefrom. 1 c

9. In a photographic: apparatus, the combination with print conveyingmechanism movable along a predetermined path, of devices" for holding a print inposition to be 7 picked up by said conveying mechanism, said devices including a member adjacent the path of travel of said conveying mechanismiand porting a print, andstop means adjacent the lower edge of said downwardly sloping face to limit the downward motion of a print over said face, said stop means having a plurality of openingsto permit easy drainage of liquid falling upon said sloping face. 1 j

10. In a photographic apparatus, the combination with print conveying mechanism in cluding a movable bar and a plurality of impaling members mounted thereon, of devices for holding a print in position to be pierced by said impaling members, said devices including a bar having one face closely adj acent the path'of travel ofsaid first mentioned-bar and another faceat an angle thereto for sup porting said print, both of said faces having recesses at points opposite thepaths of travel ofsaid impaling members. V

I 11. In a photographic apparatus, the combination with print conveying I mechanism movable along a predetermined path, of devices for holding a print in position to be picked up and conveyed by said mechanism,

said devices including means for supporting a print on one side of the path of travel of the conveying mechanism, a nonmetallic guide member for supporting said print on the opposite side of said path of travel, and a pair of notches in which said guide member is received for rapid removal therefrom so I that said member may be easily cleaned and replaced. I

12. In a photographic apparatus, the com- 7 bination with print conveying mechanism, in-

eluding a movable bar and a plurality of impaling members mounted thereon, of devices y for holding a print in position to be pierced by said impaling members'near one edge of conveying mechanism after becoming im- 5? paled thereon.

13. In a photographic apparatus, the combination with print conveying mechanism, of

devices for holding a print in position to be picked up by said conveying mechanism, and

a stationary nonmetallic guiding member over which said print is drawn when it is picked up and movedby said conveying mechanism, said guiding member having a low I point out of contact with'a print being drawn over said I guiding member, so that liquid condensing upon said member may drain to said low point and may be out of contact with a print.

14. In a photographicapparatus, the combination with print conveying mechanism including'a bar movablealong a predetermined path of travel and a plurality of impaling members spaced from each other and mounted on said bar, of devices for holding a print transversely across the path of travel of said i bar in position to be pierced by said impaling members, said devices including a supporting member having a print supporting face ,at a

substantial angle to'the direction of travel of said bar so that a print extendingtransversely across the path of'travel of said bar may contact with and be supported by said face, said supporting face having recesses of substantial width arranged opposite said impaling members so that said print may curve transversely intosaid recesses when said impaling members come into contact with said,

print.

ARTHUR W. CAPS. 

